Prayer breakfast speaker: Be still, pray, love yourself and others

North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Sharon Decker shared a piece of her personal journey Friday morning during the Community Prayer Breakfast to encourage others in their walk of life.

BY DENEESHA EDWARDSThe Dispatch

North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Sharon Decker shared a piece of her personal journey Friday morning during the Community Prayer Breakfast to encourage others in their walk of life.The J. Smith Young and Thomas A. Finch Community YMCAs sponsored the inaugural event to bring everyone together in prayer."God has blessed my life in an immeasurable way that he has blessed yours. In the wilderness walking of the last few years, I've learned some important lessons that I hope that you can hear this morning," Decker said to the crowd at the Rittling Conference Center at Davidson County Community College. "May God bless you as you continue to serve in this community through these YMCAs. Love the children that are in this community. They're the generation and the next hope for all of us. They need to know who Christ is, not only in word in what we preach and what we teach, but more importantly with how we live and how they see us model and shape this community."Decker gave the audience of nearly 170 people four things she learned during an important period in her life. At that time she noted that she had no clue what God had in store for her.The first thing was finding time to be still. Decker said one's relationship with Jesus Christ can be defined by how much time one spends with him. She said he is trying desperately to have a relationship with people. She encouraged people to find a quiet place for the Lord and just listen. "I believe that we are living in a world in which we are killing ourselves by our busyness. We try every day to see how much more we can squeeze into a day. How many more appointments can we make. How many more things can we do. How many more people can we see. And we're killing ourselves. And the Lord cannot have a relationship with us if we are not still with him," Decker said.The next lesson was to spend time daily in prayer. Decker said prayer itself needs to be like brushing teeth, combing hair and putting on clothes because it's a routine everyone does each day. "I'm talking about spending time in conversation with God. Not just listening, but talking about what's on your heart. God already knows what's on your heart. He wants to hear us. He wants to know what we're thinking. We need to be verbalizing it so we understand what we're thinking," she said.Decker's third lesson was everyone needs to love themselves."That's not a selfish thing. That's a selfless thing," she said. "If you are in good shape in body, mind and spirit, there's a whole lot more for you to give away to those in this community that need you. We've got to care for ourselves and those we love most, to be honest when we need help and to reach out for that help. To say I can't do this on my own. God doesn't expect us to be independent. He expects us to be dependent on him. My encouragement and my learning is you have to take care of yourself. "Lastly, Decker said it was important to love others. She said if Christians say they are followers of Christ and do not love their neighbor, care for those who are hungry or have no clothing, are hurting, addicted or struggling, then they are liars. "Christ himself said to love others as you love yourself. Not in a selfish way, but so that there may be more of you to give away. I want to tell you, you can't do that if God is not first," she said. "My encouragement to you is to be still. To pray. To love yourself enough to care for yourself to be the best that God has intended for you to be. Lastly, I will tell you that it's important to love others."Co-chairs of the Prayer Breakfast Committee, Ann McMurray and Jarrod Dunbar, were pleased with the turnout."There are so many negative issues. We wanted to bring the community together and pray," said McMurray, who is a board member with the J. Smith Young YMCA. Dunbar, who is also the director of membership at the Thomas A. Finch Community YMCA, said, "It's a great start to what both Ys hope to do in the future for Davidson County, not just Y members, but the whole community."The Rev. Dr. Herbert Miller, pastor of First Baptist Church, Village Drive, and J. Smith Young YMCA board member, said the YMCA organizations are like no other nonprofits. He noted that they have a deep, rich history that focuses on betterment of people's lives, strengthening the community and renewing spirits, bodies and minds. His prayer was for the audience to hear something to uplift them to glorify God."The Y brings people together. That's what we're doing today," he said. "Today we needed to be reminded of some things … spending time with God and then taking care of ourselves. Thank you for reminding me of those things that are most important," Miller said.Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.

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